8/02 Notes
Can you believe how incredibly hot it’s been lately? I’ve been playing a little tennis lately. Ok, I can’t really call it tennis since I can’t run yet because of my knee. But I last about 30 minutes before I think I’m going to die from this 100+ degree weather. Supposedly, it’s supposed to get better. I sure hope so! Anyways, I have some random notes and links I’d like to share with all of you regarding the Wings and other NHL news…
- There’s a new Canucks blog in the sphere, Orland Kurtenblog, and they recently uploaded a post about the Wings and their third stint with Hasek. Be sure to check out this new blog.
With no Olympics and a good regular-season goalie in Chris Osgood, Detroit could play it conservative - start Hasek 30-35 times and save him for a playoff push. Detroit is still in the Central division - thanks to Bettman’s illogcal scheduling plan, that means another season of feasting on Columbus, Chicago and St. Louis, and likely having a 25 point lead by December. Imagine bringing Hasek in to be a playoff closer, a la Mariano Rivera? Talk about a psychological edge.
At the very least, it makes the Wings a more interesting team, since they now have the NHL’s two oldest active players in Hasek and Chris Chelios. In related news, Red Wings team dinners will now be served at 3:45 p.m.
- The Stanley Cup had a recent trip through Detroit with the team owner and player Chad LaRose getting their days with sports’ best trophy. Here’s just an excerpt of their time with Stanley:
The final stop of the night was Cheli’s Chili Bar & Restaurant, owned by Detroit’s veteran defenseman Chris Chelios, twice a Stanley Cup champion himself. “That was a nice thing that he did for me,” Larose mentioned, referring to Chelios allowing him to bring his Cup celebration to the downtown Detroit restaurant. “I grew up watching him here in Detroit.” With a police escort, flashing lights and all, the limos with LaRose, his family and friends as well as the Stanley Cup made their way to Cheli’s, just around the corner from Comerica Park. “Crank it,” blurted LaRose as Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” came on the radio. Like a scene out of “Wayne’s World,” the gang bobbed their heads and reached for the falsetto notes of the classic rock song. “Scaramouche, scaramouche. Can you do the fandango! Thunderbolts and lightning, very very frightening… “
Once parked, LaRose lugged the Stanley Cup up the stairs, where 250 friends waited on the guest(s) of honor. Teammate Aaron Ward stopped by to celebrate with LaRose, too. Next season, they’ll be opponents, as Ward has since signed with the Rangers.
As the night wore on, about 30 guests retreated to the VIP lounge to sip from the Stanley Cup. At 4 a.m., LaRose stretched to stay awake. “I think I’m done,” he stated. Ten minutes later, he was back in the limousine, cradling Lord Stanley’s mug. Back at his family’s home, LaRose bid everyone good night and trudged off to bed, still holding on to the Stanley Cup.
- The Washington Capitals first round pick (and fourth overall) Nicklas Backstrom is modeling his style of play after fellow Swede, the Wings own left wing Henrik Zetterberg. Backstrom is planning on another year in Sweden before making the switch to the NHL.
While McPhee suggested that Backstrom was following Ovechkin’s footsteps in his development, it is as likely that he is copying the path of his favorite player, Zetterberg.
As a kid, Backstrom followed the exploits of Mats Sundin and Forsberg, the player he has been compared to for the past two years. Backstrom is flattered, but also a little unsettled by those comparisons.
Now, it is Detroit’s Zetterberg who has caught Backstrom’s fancy. He admits freely that he has patterned his game after the young Red Wing.
“First, I looked at Mats Sundin and Peter Forsberg, but when Henrik Zetterberg came to NHL, he was a good player. I want to be like him. I think it’s bad to compare me to Forsberg. There’s only one Peter Forsberg in the world.”
- Denise Ilitch, daughter of Mike and Marian Ilitch (the owners of the Wings), was robbed while in Detroit on her way to a political function. She was the former co-president of Ilitch Holdings and alternate governor of the team among other positions. I had the pleasure to interview Denise in November 2003 at her house in Bloomfield Hills, which was incredibly nice by the way. You can read that interview here.
- The Toronto Star has an interview with Igor Larionov, who is eligible to be inducted in the Hall of Fame next year.
Did you ever want to play for the Leafs?
I talked to Ken Dryden about six or seven years ago about playing for the Maple Leafs, but I liked (former Detroit coach) Scotty Bowman. I liked his style of play. I liked the team and I liked the city. I didn’t want to go anywhere.
Would you have liked to play under the current NHL rules?
Yeah, that would’ve been nice. I was thinking last year of coming back, but I thought 27 years was enough. At the beginning I wasn’t sure about the rule changes — so many penalties, so many calls. It’s opened up the game, but I still think there are too many teams. … I don’t want to mention any teams, but it’s a waste of money to watch them.
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2 Responses to “8/02 Notes”
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August 4th, 2006 at 9:41 pm
Born and raised in Michigan, I’m a lifetime Tigers, Lions, Pistons and Red Wings fan. But since I live and work in the Washington DC area, I’m a partial season-ticket holder for the Washington Capitals (Hey, gotta get my hockey fix somehow!) Last year was amazing with the debut of Alexander Ovechkin. Looking forward this year to the return of Semin. In two years we’ll have Backstrom and hopefully a true playoff contender. BTW, Congrates on the rehab Christy.
August 6th, 2006 at 1:33 pm
Duponceau- Thanks for the comment. The Caps certainly look like their going in the right direction and your owner seems really open to trying new things especially in connecting to the fans and bloggers. Backstrom and Ovechkin will be a nice duo to have on your team…